The One with Our DVD Collection

When we moved into our apartment we found out we would have to pay for cable TV if we wanted it. Not willing to part with the money it would cost to get it set up and the monthly fee, we have chosen to live cable-less for the past year. Of course we make special exceptions for LOST and The Office. On Thursday nights we head over to my grandparent's or Chris' brother's so we can indulge in the finest of television series.

Oftentimes I wish we had cable. When everyone at work is talking about American Idol, Project Runway or even the news, I feel totally left out. Then again, I've heard the average American watches over 4 hours of TV a day!! I don't know about you, but I definitely don't have time to watch that much TV.

However, we do have a TV and a DVD player and have been "collecting" DVDs since my senior year of high school. We used to go to "Big Daddy's" previously owned DVD store and buy 8 DVDs at a time for $5 each. They went out of business - probably a good thing. Now, every Tuesday morning on the way to work I stop at the local Target to pick up the newest releases (if any) and see what other DVDs they have on sale. All DVDs go on sale eventually. I will never pay more than $16 for a new release and no more than $10 for a movie that's been out for awhile.

Think about this - A DVD costs just as much as going to see a movie and you don't have to deal with the crowds, the bad seats, the rancid smells, cell phones and annoying people and you can watch it from the convenience of your own home, laying down on your own couch with blankets, and all the normal priced food and candy you could ever want. The average new release is $15.99 and a Friday night movie costs $15.00 for two people. Instead of paying a monthly cable bill we buy DVDs. And we only go out to eat once a week and don't spend very much money on other activities. Our date fund money goes towards DVDs, which is great because our perfect date night consists of homemade popcorn and watching a good movie.

So...that all being said, we have over (drum roll please) 367 DVDs and about 16 different TV shows on DVD. Crazy, we know. But, if we ever have a financial crisis our DVDs will be the first thing to go. Heck, maybe they'd even pay for the first semester of dental school! Or maybe they'd pay off our car loan.

If you ever want to borrow a movie, chances are we have it so don't be afraid to ask. My theory is I can only watch one movie at a time and it probably won't be the same movie you want so you're more than welcome. Email me if you want a list of our current titles.

Think of it this way - DVDs are better than having a Pez collection! Oh wait, Chris has one of those, too... Maybe I'll talk him into writing about his collection - it'll be his first contribution to "our" blog.